{Beauty Review} Lipstick Queen’s Reign & Shine Gloss

Lipstick Queen’s Reign & Shine Gloss

Goodbye Matte, Hello Shine

Thank all that is holy, the matte lipstick trend has waned, and the smooth, shiny, and moisture rich formulas are king of the castle once again. That means lip gloss is making a full, fabulous comeback.

But seriously, there are so many sticky lip glosses out there, and it can really be hard to find one that won’t give me that tacky feeling. I’ve found a few that are my go-to’s, so I tend to not venture out to try new ones too often. (I know, where’s my sense of adventure, right?!)

So when Lipstick Queen sent me a couple of their latest Reign & Shine glosses, it was a great chance to sample something new, and I was hopeful they would deliver on a smooth gloss.

The New Hues

The Reign & Shine collection includes 6 hues of buildable shades with no-kidding, crushed golden pearls golden to give your lips a high shine. The colors range from nude to merlot, offering a small range of pinks and purple tones.

The formula also has Sodium Hyaluronate, which plumps for a fuller pout. And this isn’t a gimmick. I did my research, Luxers. Can we get nerdy for a sec? When applied topically, Sodium Hyaluronate reaches deep down into the dermis to combine with, maintain and attract water. It also promotes skin/blood microcirculation and nutrient absorption. These activities will result in smoother, softer skin with decreased wrinklers, and a fuller appearance. Ah, science.

So How Did They Do?

The first color I tried was the Empress of Apricot – a light blush tone that gives just a little hint of pretty color in a sheer finish on my lips. While the color is buildable, I preferred to do just a couple of swipes to keep the color just a bit less opaque.

The gloss didn’t feel too sticky after two swipes, and I didn’t feel the tingly feeling that you sometimes get with lip plumping glosses. After about ten minutes of wearing this, the plumping did work, and I could totally tell that I didn’t take it all the way up to my lip line. Kind of cool to see that it plumps that much. I’ll just go ahead and reapply now…talk amongst yourselves….

The next color I tried was the Ruler of Rose, which had a rich pigment that really popped against my skin. This is another home run everyday color. This actually injected some color into my otherwise washed out tone without overpowering it, which can happen often with my super pale tone.

This time, I added more layers – 4 – to get more of an opaque lipstick look. The full color was achieved, but this time, there was definitely a bit of a tacky feel going on. After a little wear throughout the day, the tacky feel subsided, but the color remained four about 4 hours.

Overall, I was pretty happy with the performance of the Reign & Shine glosses I tried. I don’t think I’ll layer them as much for a rich color, because I prefer the sheer, non-sticky texture that can still be achieved with just a couple of swipes.